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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsNHL teams manage goalie workloads by balancing starts, recovery, practice exposure and game readiness—not by following a league-wide rotation or a proven starts-per-season limit. Coaches weigh each goalie’s ability and form, recent minutes and shots, health, schedule, travel, backup readiness and the team’s position in the standings.
How teams decide who starts
A starting plan is a series of choices, not a fixed rotation. The coaching staff considers how the two goalies compare, how each has played recently, how long it has been since each last started, and what the upcoming opponent and schedule demand. A rested goalie is useful only if the coach believes that goalie gives the team a competitive chance.
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The decision also accounts for what a start entails. A short outing and a long game with many shots faced are not equivalent workloads, even though each counts as one start. Teams therefore consider recent game minutes and shots alongside days of rest and the next assignment.
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Splitting starts on consecutive nights is a common approach when a team has two goalies capable of competing. It lets one goalie avoid playing both games and gives the other a chance to stay involved. It is not a mandatory NHL rule: coaches can choose the order based on matchup, goalie quality and form, and each player’s rest. Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol described the prevailing approach in 2022: “Typically you’re going to have a split on the back-to-backs.” Seattle Kraken, “Examining Goalie Workload”.
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The size of the performance benefit is less certain than the logic of avoiding a second consecutive game. The Kraken’s 2022 article recounted an earlier analysis by Carolina executive Eric Tulsky that reported a “just over 11 percent” decline in save percentage for a goalie playing both nights, while also noting later analyses found the effect less significant. That historical estimate is not a settled modern effect size, so it should not be treated as a guaranteed penalty for every goalie or schedule.
When teams carry a third goalie
A third goalie can give a club options beyond choosing which of two players starts. NHL.com’s coverage of the 2024–25 season described teams using a third goalie so the starter could have a full night away from the rink instead of dressing as the backup. In another arrangement, a goalie stayed in the first road city while a teammate traveled ahead to start the second game of a road back-to-back, avoiding a late arrival. These are examples of how clubs used an extra goalie in that season, not a census of current team practices. NHL.com, “Unmasked: Rest key for goalies with condensed schedule”.
That flexibility has trade-offs: a third goalie occupies roster space and may have fewer chances to play. Teams can also arrange position-specific goalie-coach work or use practice goalies and additional ice time, but those options do not replace the value of a game-ready backup.
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Why starts are only one measure of workload
Goaltending work does not begin and end with games. Staff may consider minutes played, shots faced, practice repetitions, butterfly drops, side-to-side movement, travel and off-ice preparation. A goalie who has played a long, high-volume game may need a different practice plan from one whose start was relatively light.
NHL.com reported that wearable tracking is used to count butterfly drops, total workload over periods of a minute or longer, and asymmetry between sides. The article said more than 80 percent of NHL teams monitored butterfly drops using Catapult technology; that figure is attributed to the article’s reporting and can change as teams’ practices change. Seattle goalie Joey Daccord said, “We track it all,” while Carolina Hurricanes goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder said, “Practice is where you need to take advantage of that.” NHL.com, “Butterfly posture getting closer look from teams due to injury impact on hips”.
Tracking can inform a decision to reduce repetitions after heavy game exposure, but it is one input rather than a universal workload formula. The peer-reviewed workload study discussed below counted starts, minutes and shots faced, while acknowledging it did not include practice or dryland training. Publicly available measures therefore do not capture every part of a goalie’s workload.
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Keeping the backup ready
Giving the starter rest works best when the other goalie is prepared to play. Long gaps between starts can make it harder to maintain timing, confidence and game rhythm. Winnipeg Jets backup Eric Comrie described the challenge as “The hardest part is definitely finding that game rhythm.” NHL.com, “Unmasked: Maintaining game rhythm, confidence key to surviving as backup NHL goalie”.
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How standings and the playoff horizon affect decisions
Late in the season, coaches may weigh standings, travel, the schedule—especially back-to-backs—recent and expected workload, injuries, and the starter’s physical and mental condition. Practice can change too: Marcoux’s 2018 account describes fewer high-quality repetitions for the starter and more repetitions for the backup. A team chasing a playoff place may lean more heavily on its best goalie; a team with greater standings security may see more value in rest. Neither choice follows a universal formula.
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The aim is to preserve performance while keeping the goalie able to handle the next stretch of games. As Marcoux put it, “The goal is to ensure quality starts from your top goalie throughout what is, hopefully, a long run in the postseason.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does evidence support a 60-start limit?
No single workload ceiling is established by the available evidence. A 2024 retrospective study by Khan and colleagues examined 111 goalie-seasons from 51 NHL goalies, representing 29 of 31 teams in its sample. The sample averaged 50.1 regular-season starts. Its primary analysis found no significant relationship between regular-season workload and postseason performance after accounting for age and injury status. For postseason goals saved above average per 60 minutes, the workload model reported R² = 0.068 and p = 0.26. Khan et al., “Load Management Among Professional Hockey Goalies: A Retrospective Cohort Study,” Sports Health (2024).
The authors challenge the common claim that 60 starts is an evidence-based ideal maximum. The observation that no goalie starting more than 60 games had won the Stanley Cup since 2009 could be anecdotal, or it could reflect teams already managing starts; it does not by itself show that a specific limit improves playoff results.
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The study’s result also does not mean workload never matters or that rest is useless. It was retrospective, could not distinguish deliberate rest from unintentional missed games, was slightly underpowered to detect small effects, relied on public data and omitted practice and dryland workload. Its injury measure may also miss injuries that did not cause a goalie to miss a game. The finding is narrower: in this sample, the measured regular-season workload did not significantly predict postseason performance. It does not settle injury prevention or the right plan for an individual goalie.
What a workload plan needs to balance
There is no established number of starts that works for every goalie. A practical plan balances the player’s current condition and performance with the team’s options and schedule:
- Goalie quality and form: how competitive the rested alternative is and how each goalie has been playing.
- Recovery: time since the last start, recent minutes and shots, and any health concerns.
- Practice exposure: the amount and type of work planned, including tracked movement where the team uses it.
- Schedule and travel: back-to-backs, road timing and opportunities for a full recovery window.
- Roster depth and readiness: whether the backup is prepared and whether a third goalie is available.
- Team objectives: standings pressure now versus preserving capacity for a possible playoff run.
Starts are an important part of workload management, but they are not the whole measure. The evidence supports individualized decisions under uncertainty, rather than a universal rotation or a magic ceiling.
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